Understanding Red Blood Cell Health and the Management of Sickle Cell Disease

Elna Saah, MD, reviews the role of red blood cells in oxygen transport and energy generation.

Nirmish Shah, MD, discusses the biochemical pathways within RBCs and their importance in facilitating a healthy RBCs form and function.

Matthew M. Heeney, MD, explores the role of 2,3-disphosphoglycerate in RBCs, highlighting the interplay of this compound with pyruvate kinase-R and hemoglobin.

Dr Elna Saah leads a discussion on clinical and laboratory measures that can be utilized to determine RBC health.

Dr Nirmish Shah shares his opinion surrounding the clinician awareness of RBC health metrics as well as diagnostic examinations, and Dr Elna Saah shares her insight into explaining these metrics to patients.

Biree Andemariam, MD, and Matthew M. Heeney, MD, comment on the importance of patient education in RBC health management and discuss how they initiate these conversations with patients.

Dr Matthew M. Heeney reviews the characteristics of an unhealthy RBC and how they can lead to blood disorders.

An expert in hematology provides an overview of the characteristics of an unhealthy RBC.

Matthew M. Heeney, MD, and Elna Saah, MD, highlight the role of 2,3-disphosphoglycerate as well as epigenetic and genetic factors in RBC form and function.

Matthew M. Heeney, MD, leads a discussion on the impact of unhealthy RBCs and blood disorders on a patient’s quality of life.

Elna Saah, MD, provides an overview of sickle cell disease and comments on disease pathophysiology.

An expert in hematology provides insight into the unmet needs, overall prevalence, and disease burden of sickle cell disease.

Nirmish Shah, MD; Elna Saah, MD; and Biree Andemariam, MD, highlight sickle cell disease burden through the lens of their patients and comment on unmet needs in disease management.

Nirmish Shah, MD, shares his advice for initiating conversations with patients about treatment options and selection criteria for sickle cell disease.

Matthew M. Heeney, MD, reviews the mechanism of action and the safety and efficacy data of FDA-approved therapies for the management of sickle cell disease.

Experts in hematology hypothesize about the potential for curative vs disease-modifying therapies in the management of sickle cell disease.

Dr Matthew M. Heeney shares his hopes for the future of gene therapy in the management of patients with sickle cell disease.

Dr Elna Saah highlights the role of data longevity, clinical trial end points, and metrics when evaluating novel treatments for the management of sickle cell disease.

Nirmish Shah, MD, and Matthew M. Heeney, MD, discuss the need for ongoing clinical trials and diversity in them to bolster data and improve provider confidence in emerging therapeutic options for sickle cell disease.

Matthew M. Heeney, MD, and Nirmish Shah, MD, hypothesize about the ability of emerging sickle cell disease biomarkers to assess risk-benefit and disease severity in patients.

A panel of experts in hematology discuss the future directions for sickle cell disease and share practice pearls for disease management.